Short Summary

Rhodesia has accused black nationalist guerrillas of abducting 40-thousand men, women and children during five-and-a-half years of fighting.

Description

Rhodesia has accused black nationalist guerrillas of abducting 40-thousand men, women and children during five-and-a-half years of fighting.

SYNOPSIS: Thousands of people from Rhodesia are living in refugee camps like this women's and children's camp near Kafue, 18 miles (30 kilometres) from Lusaka, the Zambian capital. It is run by Mr. Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union, part of the Patriotic Front which is still fighting the guerrilla war from bases outside Rhodesia.

The nationalists say these people escaped from Rhodesia, and claim many of the women had been raped by Rhodesian troops. The Rhodesian government, however, claims that many of the people in the Patriotic Front's refugee camps were abducted and are being held against their will.

Bishop Abel Muzorewa, one of the three moderate black members of the interim government in Rhodesia, appealed for the repatriation of refugees during his recent visit to Botswana. The quarters shown to newsmen were simple but neat and clean, in contrast to refugee camps in many other parts of the world.

It's claimed that more than 1,000 black Rhodesians leave the country each week. many are drafted into Mr. Nkomo's Zambia-based guerrilla force. But Rhodesia claims some whites have also been abducted by the guerrillas, and are being held in Zambia, Botswana, and Mozambique.